These Are the Best Strider Bikes for Your Kid

The first bicycle was a push bike. True story. Two wheels, no pedals. Karl Drais designed it in Germany in 1817. And while the bike has evolved in the last 201 years, an argument could be made that the essence of the bike is the same today as it was two centuries ago: two wheels and a seat. At least, that’s the argument that Ryan McFarland, the founder of Strider Bikes likes to make. If you have a kid, or just live on planet earth near kids, you’ve seen a Strider Bike. It’s the super-fun looking balance bike with a low seat and no pedals that little kids use to rip sidewalks, pump tracks and even single track before they can handle a pedal bike. Like many great inventions, McFarland created the Strider out of necessity and frustration.

“When my son was two, I got him a 12-inch tricycle and I watched him struggle with it,” McFarland says. “The tricycle was so huge compared to my son. He couldn’t reach the bottom of the pedal stroke.”

So, McFarland stripped the tricycle down to only the necessities, lowering the seat, ditching the drive train and the pedals until it looked something like that first Karl Drais balance bike. But he struggled with the design on a philosophical level. “If you’re not pedaling, is it still a bike?” McFarland asked himself. “Once I got past that concept and embraced the idea that biking has nothing to do with pedaling, it set the design free.”

And Strider was born. This was 2007. Today, Strider is the largest manufacturer of balance bikes, hitting the “2 million bikes sold” mark in summer 2018. McFarland says stripping the bike of its pedals allows kids to focus on the more important elements of riding a bike: steering and leaning. Maybe even more significant, the lower center of gravity and lightweight build of Striders make them less intimidating for young kids.

“So much of a kid’s fear of biking comes from being misfit on the bike,” McFarland says. “The Strider is so low and light, they’re in control from the get go, so there’s no fear.”

Kids seem to agree. Parents all over the world are eschewing the traditional method of training wheels and opting for Striders as their offspring’s first bike. Now, McFarland is using that momentum to try to teach an entire generation how to ride a bike. Last year, he created a non-profit, the Strider Education Foundation that develops in-school curriculum designed to teach kindergarteners how to ride bikes in PE class. Thirty schools ran the program in its inaugural year. In 2019, the program is set to run in several hundred schools across eight states.

“Our goal is to get every kid in America proficient on a bike by the time they graduate from kindergarten,” McFarland says. “Can you imagine the mass market support for bicycles and bicycle initiatives if everybody rides bikes?”

It’s a lofty goal and it begins with your kid’s first ride. Here are some of our favorite Strider models, as well as a couple of accessories to make the most of their first bike.

12 Sport

This is the most popular model of Strider, designed for kids between 18 months and five years old. Everything is scaled to young kids, from the smaller grips to the light frame (just 6.7 pounds complete). The 12” wheels are made from EVA polymer, so they’ll never go flat, and the bike has an extra-long seat post so you get the most out of it when your kid hits that growth spurt.

12 Pro

The Pro is based on the Sport model, but with a few smart details for added performance. The bike sheds two pounds from the Sport model, coming in at just 5.6 pounds, while adding a number plate to the handlebars. Because racing is cool. Most important, it has performance footrests where the bottom bracket would be so your kid will have a place to rest her feet when she’s ripping. Plus, she’ll get an early jump on foot placement for when pedals are introduced.

14x Sport

Strider introduced the 14x last year as the perfect ride to take your kids from pushing to pedaling. It’s designed for children between the ages of 3 and 7, with a slightly larger frame and wheelset than the 12, but with the same principles of design: low center of gravity and light frame for confidence. And when your kid is ready to move beyond pushing his bike, the 14x has an Easy-Ride Pedal Kit that you attach to the bottom bracket. You get two bikes in one for a seamless transition to pedaling.

16 Sport

This larger model is designed for kids with special needs, such as Down Syndrome and autism, giving kids older than 6 a platform to build confidence and promote mobility and exercise. In addition to Strider’s low center of gravity, the 16 Sport has hand brakes, and inflatable tires for added traction, as well as removable footrests. There’s also a 20” version for older kids that’s also being used in senior citizen facilities to promote mobility.

Strider 12 ST-R

Does your 3-year-old need a carbon fiber bike? No. But do you need your 3-year-old to have a carbon bike? That’s a tougher question to answer. This thing is tricked out with a carbon fiber frame and fork, Cane Creek AER Headset and Bearings, 12” wheels with carbon fiber rims and Schwalbe Big Apple Tires. It’s completely unnecessary and completely badass.

Baby Bundle

Buy NowPrice: $200The perfect set up to get your child comfortable on a Strider

Strider

Six-month-old babies can’t ride bikes. But they can ride the Baby Bundle, which puts a Strider 12 sport on a supportive platform that a baby can climb onto and rock back and forth while you make the “vroom vroom” noises. The system helps the youngest rippers develop balance, motor skills and spatial awareness. And when they’re ready, you can remove the rocking base platform and set your kid loose on the 12 Sport.

Snow Skis

Just because there’s fresh pow on the ground doesn’t mean you have to leave the bike in the garage. These Snow Skis attach to the bottom of the wheels turning your kids balance bike into a balance sled. Now we’re totally jealous.

Pneumatic Wheel Set

Buy NowPrice: $60A rubber wheel set for when you’re kid is ready for a new sort of ride

Courtesy of Strider

Upgrade your kid’s wheel set from the standard “no flat” EVA tires to this performance-based rubber. You’ll get better traction and increased speeds, and the all terrain tread pattern is great for pump tracks and single track.

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